James Franco has revealed his new movie 'The Disaster Artist' began to feel like an "autobiographical" project as the filming process progressed

The 39-year-old actor stars in and directs the dramatisation of the making of Tommy Wiseau's 'The Room' in which he plays Tommy as he portrays Johnny in the 2003 cult film.

Franco admits as the filmmaking process progressed it started to feel as though he was making a movie about himself.

Speaking to The Guardian newspaper, Franco said: "The whole thing did start to feel really autobiographical. One of the other lessons I learned from the movie is I'm a bit like Tommy. He thought he was making this big dramatic movie and it turned out to be a comedy.

The film follows the making of 'The Room' - directed by and starring Wiseau - which has been dubbed the worst movie ever made but the movie itself has gained a cult following.

Franco admitted he was drawn to the story because of the "insane characters and comedy" as well as the "artistic process".

He said: "When I came across this story, I knew it had everything that I'm interested in examining with the artistic process, but also these insane characters and comedy that would allow it to go into a more commercial space.

"So the smart part of my brain said, 'OK, get Seth to produce this.' He knows how to work with a studio and still make very personal movies; the kind of movies he wants to make. He really pushed me to be more responsible, to slow down, to focus on one thing at a time. And that was a really big lesson to me."

The story behind the making of Tommy Wiseau’s The Room, regarded by many as the worst movie ever made; Franco plays the hapless auteur with impressive mimicry and sincerity. A charming tale about friendship, reaching for your dreams and trying to make it in Hollywood.